Music flowing at Paddy's

We are both happy and sad to state that we will be resuming music at Paddy's again. Happy because the local youth finally have a place to come back to play their music. We mentioned a few months ago that we would discontinue any further shows at Paddy's, because of the asinine financial and threatening demands from the music industry.

And yes, we were true to our beliefs and we stuck to it. What we failed to grasp was the gravity of our decision. Venues for the youth simply dried up or shut their doors because of the fear of lawsuits and what have you from the music industry. Almost all the cafes and coffee houses in the local area simply stopped hosting musicians and open mics.

The straw that broke the camel's back,so to speak, was our decision to host an open mic last month. We strictly informed all the performers that their performances would have to be originals, no hint of cover etc. In essence, we asked them to be as creative as possible. Lo and behold, the morning of the show, we got calls and emails asking us to cease and desist unless we pay up. Our arguments and pleadings against it fell on deaf ears. Their stand was simple, we cannot be guaranteed that there will be no cover copyright songs performed, so you are in the dock for money.

It really, really hurt us but we were left with no recourse but to cancel the show. The disappointment that was felt by the hosts was minute compared to the anguish we suffered. Our philosophy is, was and will always be to support the neighbourhood. And here we were, cancelling an event.

Emails, letters, phone calls continued from the music industry. It became unbearable. Finally, we capitulated and said enough is enough. The industry is asking us to fork out an arm and leg to continue performances. With that as a backdrop, we contacted all the performers to have a fundraiser for us to pay the industry. The response was phenomenal and truthfully, we were extremely emotional at the outpouring of support.

So, with that said, we are now having a Paddy's Pay the Music Industry Fundraiser Open Mic night, with your own neighbourhood kids rallying around and performing and raising funds for us. Please, please help us in our fundraiser drive, so we can pay the industry and not stifle the talent of the youth.

We never made any money hosting the youth for their shows, we never charged the youth for hosting their shows, au contraire, we donated to their cause or bought their wares etc, but the industry does not see the benevolent side of humanity. In their words, one of the performers played a Paul McCartney song, and thus we are liable to pay him.

We are glad to put this issue behind us. We do not condone the industry seeking their just dues, but we do condone their apathy in understanding the culture of an establishment and not paint everything in a broad brush.

Paddy's Startup Tech Hub October 2011

We did not have a Startup Tech Hub in September. For October, the Tech Hub is scheduled for Saturday October 22nd, from 2 to 4 pm. Quite a bit on the agenda.

a) Paddy's Coffee House recognised as small business of the year by Senator Ellen Corbett
b) Senator Ellen Corbett will be talking about her Social Network legislation (SB 242)
c) There will be a presentation by Ragapa.com, a startup based in the East Bay
d) Networking and what have you.

Please help us spread the word, and hope to see you on the 22nd.

Contest time

It's that time of the year. Yes, design contest time for our 2012 cups and T-shirts. For those not in the know, every year, we come out with a new slogan and design for our cups and T-shirts. Past entries have included
a) Port-A-Paddy's (an all time favourite)
b) Friend's let friends drink Paddy's
c) I am a Paddymeister
d) Sippin' it at Paddy's.
e) Who's your Paddy?
f) Got Paddy's ?

You get the idea. Put your creative juices to work, submit us your entries. The winners get a cup, a T-shirt and our heartfelt thanks.

The Book Drive for Starlight Children's Foundation

It has been a wonderful book drive so far. And boy oh boy, did people respond. What was particularly pleasing to the eye was seeing people stop, browse for books, pick up the one they like, sit down, peruse it over a cup of coffee. Talk about diversity of literature. Cook books (oh a great veggie cook book), text books, novels, fiction, faction, biographies. We spotted some really really good ones, alas, we missed out on the Complete Works of Shakespeare.

The main drive is over, but we are not folding up the table. We are keeping it open for you to drop books off, browse for other books, donate to the Starlight Children's Foundation jar and enjoy yourself.

Coffee for the month of October 2011

Fall weather is tunneling its way through enveloping presence of the Bay Area Summer. So naturally, while reaching out for your allergy pills, you also start making plans to head out somewhere warm. And suddenly all flights to the Hawaiian Islands are booked full. Well, while you are starting your planning, we cannot think of a better way to get into the spirit than by having our Island Blend Coffee.

Yup, our coffee of the month is our Island Blend Coffee, a very strong, full bodied coffee, that is a blend of Pacific Island Coffees. It has a very nice rich finish. Come by, sample it, and for this month, we retail our Island Blend Coffee for $13.00 a pound.

Candidates

Well, it's that time of the season. Paddy's is looking to hire two people, for the morning and mid morning shifts. If you know someone, would you mind having them get in touch with us.

What are we looking for:

a) Must have graduated from high school
b) Local to 94587
c) Pleasing and friendly personality
d) Ability to handle and diffuse situations
e) Must have their own mode of transportation
f) Not looking for short term or seasonal jobs
g) Flexible hours
h) And of course, must like coffee and tea
i) Prior retail experience an added bonus
j) Must be willing to challenge and improve themselves personally and professionally


Candidates must submit a resume with a cover letter mentioning the reasons why they want to work here and what they can offer.

We offer a wonderful environment to work with. Within a short span of time, each person manages their own shift and becomes independent. There is no hierarchy or structure, every one is the same. Our average employee stay is about 3 years. And that's the reason why we are not looking for short term people.

Book Drive to benefit Starlight Children's Foundation

You know we have done fundraisers in the past. And you also know we have done a book drive in the past. Then we thought,why not combine both of them. And thus this idea was born.

Paddy's Coffee House will hold a book drive/fundraiser for the Starlight Children's Foundation. Upto Saturday September 24th, there will be Starlight boxes and tables at the coffee house for people to donate books. We would be collecting used and new books. Used books will be taken to Half Price Books, Fremont, to raise funds for the Starlight Children's Foundation. New books will be donated to Starlight Hospital Contacts throughout the greater bay area. The entire fundraiser would last 3 weeks, with a closing reception on Saturday, September 24th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

To close out the fundraiser, we will have a reception on Saturday, September 24th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. There will be a book reading by Jan Pitcher, author and artist of Where do the Stars Go?. She will bring her paintings to display at Paddy's during the event and do a reading for the children. After the reading, Turtle Wayne will teach the children how to draw turtles... which we will collaborate and make a book of all the drawings.